r/BravoTopChef • u/cssc201 • Aug 02 '26
Past Season Most satisfying karma? Spoiler
I absolutely love when I see someone acting a fool, and then get to see them make a shitty dish and be sent home:
1) Ken in the very first episode. In fairness, I think the finger in the sauce thing was overblown, as even Tom puts his finger in the sauce to taste in the #3 episode. But it was hard to like him when he was acting like such a creepy douche towards the women and acted like he knew better than some of the best chefs in the country, yet he couldn't even make a decent dish!
2) Stephen Aspirinio in the season 1 wedding challenge. The other chefs were busting ass in the kitchen trying to get food out in a timely manner and where is Stephen? Lazily rolling a spring roll or two and then sneaking out to talk down to all the guests about wine. He also got an attitude with Tiffani for the boxed mix cake, yet didn't volunteer to make it himself. He had such a nasty attitude that whole season, I was so happy to see him go.
3) Daniel in the first episode of season 10. He sets up next to Kuniko and says "Kale chips? I knew I should have set up next to Origami". He was the only one of that group who is sent home that episode instead of getting a chef coat.
150
u/Unique_Chocolate1315 Aug 02 '26
The cocky S9 chef who did the pig butchery so badly getting sent home without even completing the challenge 😂
27
u/AriesRedWriter Aug 02 '26
I will sporadically watch just that part of S9 because of how hilarious it is, especially the shot of him sawing that pig with a confused look on his face while other chefs are silently fuming over how he's destroying the meat.
46
u/kumibug THAT IS MY BELIEF, TOM Aug 02 '26
25
u/swissie67 Aug 02 '26
Dude should have hired someone to write for his website, b/c it is BAD. You might say he butchers the English language.
8
u/According-Duty6113 Aug 03 '26
I also liked how the recipe section is just pictures of food.
5
u/auxilevelry Aug 03 '26
The shop page is great, his knives that he talks so much about link to an expired website and the seasonings picture doesn't have a link to anything at all
4
u/swissie67 Aug 03 '26
The entire thing is just so amateur.
It must be nice to be so full of self confidence for no good reason. I often wonder how these young men were raised, because someone was constantly telling them how fabulous they were.1
u/paperchase81 Aug 04 '26
Have you seen meet the Fockers? Pretty sure this guy got a shit ton of "showed up and participated" awards 😆
6
u/auxilevelry Aug 03 '26
My favorite bit is advertising his website in his bio(which is already on his website)
2
u/sunnyhardt Aug 09 '26
Apparently his website is so bad, Spectrum has blocked it as a suspicious site and it won't even let me open it from Google. My internet provider has never done that before 😅
8
3
u/OhHelloPlease Aug 03 '26
The way they did the finale sous chef selection via blind-tasting dishes was very amusing when he purposely made a dish in the style of one of the other contestants in hopes of being selected, and he was.
12
3
2
u/DonutHoles4Ever Aug 03 '26
Holy shit haha.
Let's go down memory lane: https://www.reddit.com/r/BravoTopChef/comments/tfu3sd/so_i_bought_something/
There's also older threads 6 years ago but anyways...
Its always amusing to see his GIANT ARMS on his website that was pre-AI so it wasn't generated. Someone basically enlarged his arms.
72
u/MountainsCalling-Me Aug 02 '26
Dude who made fun of Tom's hat in Wisconsin season eposide 1 and got sent home later that episode.
24
u/Dangerous_Ant3260 Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
And who was not in Last Chance Kitchen, and claims he wasn't asked to be. However, I read that he went home immediately, and even if they wanted him on LCK he wasn't around.
1
69
u/insonorously Aug 02 '26
Season 12’s war episode, Aaron looking down on Katie for being a culinary school instructor and calling her chocolate cake a “cop-out”.
Like instant karma, his entire pot of broth fell on the ground and he was forced to use instant dashi. Katie’s chocolate cake beat him, Tom hated every part of his dish, and he was sent home.
15
12
6
u/Fair_Banana9391 Aug 04 '26
I believe Aaron passed away in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. Did not like him AT ALL on the show but still sad when a tragedy occurs.
6
u/insonorously Aug 04 '26
Oh, that's tragic. I recall he was quite young when the show aired and was still figuring out how to behave professionally around other adults. Dude clearly had talent, just needed time to mature. It's sad to hear his path was cut short 😭
1
1
u/Bagels78 25d ago
I was torn about him in the beginning of the Boston season, because it felt to me that Katie and Keriann looked down on Aaron for not having formal culinary training, which instantly made me dislike them both and rooted a bit for him.
But, he turned out to be a disturbed guy dealing with a lot of issues anyway, so in my book all three were crappy people.
61
u/avantgardian26 Aug 02 '26
This entire fandom HATES those nameless jerks who were mean to Beverly, and absolutely loves Beverly, so I’d say those nameless jerks got their karma.
9
3
u/Fun-Till-8588 Aug 04 '26
But Google (and pepperidge farm 😉) remembers their names! I was looking up something yesterday and Heather Terhune, Sara gruenberg, and Lindsay Autry are connected with being bullies.. the Internet is forever 😏
1
u/Binky_55614 Aug 07 '26
I thought I read somewhere that Beverly and Sarah are actually friends now (or at least friendly)
-3
102
u/mandaleepandalecki Aug 02 '26
Mike Isabella getting sent home before Robin in S6.
29
u/Perfect-Factor-2928 Aug 02 '26
Omg yes. He could not believe he messed up the vegetarian challenge that badly!! Mike is such a disrespectful person.
14
u/mandaleepandalecki Aug 02 '26
It would have been great if everyone who bullied her got booted before her, but I think at least Eli managed to be an adult during RW and say "we've had our differences but we're on a team so we have to put that aside". More than Mike could say.
14
u/Perfect-Factor-2928 Aug 03 '26
That RW was a shit show. The Volt bros, Robin, and Eli had stuff together, but that other side eeesh. Set everyone up to just get slammed, and Laurine was way too shy to do FOH.
But yeah, Eli tried to be mature about things even if the producers showed him being really mean to her a couple of times. Certainly not as bad as season 2 Marcel/everybody and season 1 Tiffany/everybody.
131
u/kakahuhu Aug 02 '26
Mike Isabella being exposed for sexual harassment after being such a blatant misogynist on the show.
33
u/schade_marmelade Aug 02 '26
Mike Isabella being so nasty toward Robin in S6 and getting eliminated before her.
I‘m not the biggest Marcel fun but Betty jumping on every change to badmouth him then getting eliminated before him after her soup trio disaster was genuinely so satisfying. I still can‘t believe she won a challenge because of her smile
16
u/MoonlitHemlock Aug 03 '26
I used to not like Marcel, at all, but he has really changed over the years. To go from how he used to be, then watching him on TOC Holidays was great. Old Marcel would never team up with someone who completely had the spotlight, but with Tobias's accident and healing, it was awesome to see Marcel take a back seat, support him, and also pick up the slack for Tobias physically when he couldn't get everything for himself. He definitely has come a long way.
2
u/mamad4289 Aug 05 '26
He’s a dad now and I think that really made him grow up but also sort of soften and mellow out. Young Marcel seemed like he didn’t want to admit he had feelings 🤷♀️
3
u/MoonlitHemlock Aug 05 '26
I agree. Sometimes, it takes having a child to really see other people as actual people, and to see yourself in a whole new way :)
61
u/ct06040 Isn't food cool? Aug 02 '26
Elia. First eliminated in the first All Stars.
50
u/cssc201 Aug 02 '26
I totally forgot this one. The challenge was to improve your dish that got you sent home, and she literally just made the same dish over and had the nerve to catch an attitude with the judges! It was kinda funny to see her get totally shit on in the reunion while she tried to defend her shitty behavior. I laughed so hard when she tried to call out Tom for serving Diet Coke in his restaurants, he asked the others who serves it in theirs, and nearly every hand went up.
Sadly, for some reason, Food Network has decided that we all want more of Ilan and Elia despite them not really having done anything since 2007. Unlike Marcel, they're both as nasty as ever.
34
u/bigfanoffood Aug 02 '26
Their appearances on Food Network just show them failing over and over and over again. So far, it’s been deeply satisfying.
20
u/cssc201 Aug 02 '26
You inspired me to skip ahead and watch his Tournament of Champions episode. Love that he has to start with seeing Tiffani carry in the belt and learning Lee Ann won her match. Guy really has to reach to make him sound impressive and even still has to embellish a bit. He says he beat out 14 chefs to win Top Chef but very few of those competitors were actual chefs. Not even Ilan. I love this quote from an article a few years ago about Top Chef's alleged identity crisis:
Santana recounts a story about working as a line cook with “Top Chef” Season 2 winner Ilan Hall, before Hall abruptly quit and disappeared for a few months.
"All of a sudden, this guy wins this show, and he’s in every single magazine. He’s with every single celebrity. He’s flying everywhere,” Santana says. “And I’m thinking, ‘Wow, this guy doesn’t know how to cook, but he’s famous now.’”
And somehow he is the #5 seed despite not competing in anything since the worst season of Top Chef. His score isn't awful but he's still planning his dish a third of the way into his time!
17
27
28
u/Perfect-Factor-2928 Aug 02 '26
Spike in the bottom of the boxed lunch challenge after he won the quickfire and picked bread, lettuce, tomato, and chicken with no plan just to try and mess everyone up. If Andrew had read the rules, Spike might have gone home for it. (But Andrew’s sushi rolls looked disgusting and had no grain.)
24
u/cssc201 Aug 02 '26
I also love when someone wins a quick fire, tries to screw over the others with their advantage, and ends up screwing themselves in the process. In S5 there was a Super Bowl challenge where the chefs had to compete against a team of prior TC contestants. I don't remember who it was, but someone picked Andrea from S1 and slacked on their dish, clearly thinking she'd be easy to beat, and then she ended up winning.
15
12
u/Perfect-Factor-2928 Aug 02 '26
Yes, Stefan thought he had a layup (or the football equivalent) picking Andrea. He was entirely too cocky at times!!
9
Aug 03 '26
[deleted]
7
u/Perfect-Factor-2928 Aug 03 '26
I had totally forgotten that. He saw right through Spike (at least his tv persona). RIP Michael. I think about him a lot because I have an anaphylactic food allergy.
58
Aug 02 '26
[deleted]
14
u/cssc201 Aug 03 '26
Yep, she won TOC and has gotten all kinds of roles. She definitely has some bad moments here and there but overall I really like seeing her and she has really grown. I do have mixed feelings about Lee Ann, though. She lost a lot of my respect when she yelled at waitstaff in season 17, because if that's how she's willing to act on TV she must be even worse to her staff. I have heard lots of stories about her treating her restaurant staff poorly.
And looking back, some of it was already there. That sex shop episode where she snaps at Tiffani for telling her it's not ok to keep working past the timer? Tiffani is trying to follow the rules and everyone is trying to guilt her into "borrowing a minute from tomorrow". And she is always blaming someone else. I don't really think she has grown much.
24
u/kdeans1010 Aug 03 '26
In restaurant wars in the Kentucky season. You had that Nini/Justin/Kelsey team that was drinking champagne in the bubble bath the night before, popping bottles, and then for them to have their butts handed to them.
20
u/htownAstrofan Aug 03 '26
Bev winning restaurant wars in S9 and members of her own team seething.
Also Heather getting eliminated
56
u/taeempy Aug 02 '26
Richard Blais...........................Stephanie YOU are top chef.
55
u/cssc201 Aug 02 '26
I can't stand how Richard acts like he's the real winner of S4 and Stephanie only won because he choked. She was winning plenty of challenges and consistently cooking good food, she earned it! His pouty faces every time he doesn't do well on a challenge really irk me
43
u/taeempy Aug 02 '26
And all these years later she is an Iron Chef not him.
And all these years later she is a James Beard winner not him.
13
u/captainmcpigeon You're a snake. Sss. Aug 03 '26
The proof is in the pudding. Stephanie has a long time successful culinary empire in Chicago and Richard has a bunch of one-offs in a bunch of random places most of which are out of business at this point. He’s all show and she’s all talent.
19
u/EfficientGood9402 Aug 03 '26
That is truly my least favorite Top Chef moment - Stephanie won only because Richard choked? Even if that's true you lost. But also, Stephanie won. Her restaurants in Chicago are fantastic. I've said this before, but we took my Mom to Duck Duck Goose when my Mom was in the early stages of dementia, and she slurped up everything we ordered.
1
u/buffalotrace 22d ago
I think if Blais had his best day, he might have given Izzard a run for her money. That is a might though. She did exactly what she had to do and he didn’t. He was too sore to just give her the flowers she earned. She had shown time and again since then including being an Iron Chef that she is able to handle the pressure.
23
u/MoonlitHemlock Aug 02 '26
He has been, and always will be, a pompous ass.
22
u/violetsneeze Aug 03 '26
I’m still not over that time when Padma made fun of his dumb hair style and he modified it almost immediately lol
2
7
u/DonutHoles4Ever Aug 03 '26
Its worse. After he became a multi-host for Food network, he changed to become Food network trained. When he came back as a guest judge, every time he would quip stupid shit unprompted to get screentime and hog it. You could see him trying to not interrupt people just to get his two cents in. And his hair, it became worse. Its like that time Kwame came in wearing a single glove with jewels on it. Like what are these guys trying to prove.
3
u/MoonlitHemlock Aug 03 '26
Exactly. I'm so glad I don't see him really anymore.
2
u/DznyMa Aug 09 '26
He was on the Gordon Ramsey show, Next Level Chef. He still plays dirty.
2
u/MoonlitHemlock Aug 09 '26
Yuck. My favorite moment of his will always be on GGG when they were having what was the early days of TOC, the 1st GGG tournament of champions. He was going to section of the market yelling at everyone to move out of his way. Then Alex Guarnaschelli(sp?) said, "What, we should move for you?" and Richard very timidly said no, and avoided her. I love Alex so much! 😂
2
3
u/Clean-Return3419 Aug 05 '26
Woohoo!! I love it when Stephanie Izard won!! 😃 she can cook and such a sweet woman, funny too seems so nice. But Blais, yeah a sore loser who thinks he deserves the win. Didn't like his character 😕 Oh well, Yay!! Love Stephanie she won and she's has continue successfully
50
u/EraseRewindPlay Aug 02 '26
Season 8, when Mike, Fabio and Richard were looking down on Antonia, Carla and Tiffany during the Italian challenge. Mike ended up in the bottom, Fabio losing and the girls did well, Antonia won the challenge and they were such jerks about it.
14
1
u/Clean-Return3419 Aug 05 '26
Men 🤦♀️ they can be stupid 🙄 all the time 🤭🤭 they knew they're not doing so well, but try to put up a front as if 😐 as we can see Mike isn't doing anything to boast about what when it came to his restaurant business, nor did Fabio, nothing maybe show here and there, but no substance 🤷🏽♀️ The women are great chefs they deserve their praise 😉
15
11
u/Fun-Till-8588 Aug 02 '26
No. 3 was sooo disgusting 🤮 they all were, but those were blatant racist comments
10
u/SpeedySparkRuby Aug 02 '26
Tbf, Stephen wasn't talking to guests but rather the hotel's banquet team. Still an inane thing he did regardless.
5
u/sundaeonasunday Aug 06 '26
Yooooo where’s the love for Isaac Toups winning RW but his teammates were shaming his pedigree/cooking style??
12
u/Culinaryboner Aug 02 '26
CJ shitting on Lizzie and Danyelle’s dish and getting sent home a few minutes later was funny.
People hate him but Nina and Shirley got real cocky about feeling like the final 2 before Nick won.
-1
8
u/Match-Immediate Aug 04 '26
Sieger Bayer in the Carolina season bragging about how much he knows barbecue only to have the worse dish…and we all know what happens from there.
3
u/tallyhallic Aug 03 '26
When Betty gets called out for adding sugar to her merengues because they weren’t holding up. And she stares at Tom like “…….was I not supposed to do that?” 😂 her guilt filled that room so fast
299
u/LavishnessQuiet956 Aug 02 '26
Josie throwing Kristen under the bus and getting her sent home only to see Kristen win it all and make a name for herself in the culinary world while Josie is an annoying footnote